In session: Tracing Rusty Speidel’s music career is like coloring a zentangle. It twists, turns, and flows into many shapes, connects to a greater body of work, and the results are dependably creative and beautiful. Speidel (right) is a session musician, producer, arranger, and a founding member of SGGL (Speidel, Michael Goggin, Tom Goodrich, and […]
An hour of laughter: These aren’t the funniest of times, but given the circumstances, a little laughter is more important than ever. Comedians Chris Alan and Winston Hodges have you covered with their Zoom Comedy Hour. Beaming live sets and gags online, the popular local comedians bring their regular standup gig to your living room, […]
Short camps for a long summer: Want to avoid throwing that Disney movie on again so you can get some work done at home? With the prospect of a long summer ahead, Live Arts has good news for parents of small children. At Treasure Trunk Mini Camps, kids can play games, make crafts, and read […]
At the end of May, as Virginia businesses moved into Phase One of reopening, 12 Ridges Vineyard started welcoming visitors back to its tasting room, which overlooks, wait for it…12 acres of vineyards. Like many wineries, 12 Ridges, formerly Skylark Farm and, until now, best known as a Christmas tree farm, features incredible views, outdoor […]
Acting looks a bit different for Will Jones this summer. Instead of being onstage with the Charlottesville Players Guild, he’s sitting at home, in front of a microphone, wearing headphones so he can hear himself and his castmates as they read from their scripts for “Grounds…A Blackcast,” an original 10-episode audio drama. Some aspects of […]
Hear and there: It’s a question fans around the world are asking: Where does music go from here? As we navigate a reopening while keeping our distance, how do we commune around our favorite musical acts and enjoy concerts again? How do bands practice, record, and tour safely? What is the impact of our complex […]
By Ramona Martinez The paintings in “Solace,” shown this month on Studio IX’s virtual gallery, are large. Most of them are three-by-four feet, and would doubtless be particularly compelling in person. But it is a testament to Grace Ho’s voice as an artist that, even on a computer screen, her work leaves a big impression. […]
On the afternoon of the year’s hottest day so far, Sahara Clemons stands at a concrete wall about three times her height, a roll of masking tape around her wrist, a brush in the other hand, cans of paint and a cup of melting bubble tea at her feet. As she puts the finishing touches […]
Jam it all: It’s tough to summarize Brennan Gilmore’s versatile musicianship. His current group Wild Common blends rootsy, folky, power soul that’s shaped by the varied styles of its seven-plus members. Then you have descriptors such as Arab-Appalachian, raw mountain music, and alt-country-soul winding their way through a music career that Gilmore began on local […]
Planting seeds: Montpelier, the home of President James Madison, and later, the duPont family, is a former plantation dedicated to historical preservation and education, but its events are not just about the past. Montpelier’s Horticultural History offers an exploration of the evolving and very much alive ornamental gardens of the great house. Virtually explore the lush, verdant […]